My Prayer Chair

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I now have one and maybe you do too. It wasn’t my idea but it was a new idea to me. I gave it some thought, which chair should I use and where should it be. What purpose did I plan for it and where did I plan it to be. I became quite exited just thinking about it.

Firstly during warm weather it would be in the garden. I have a suitable table and chair which I can place in the sun or shade as I wish. But that is only for the summer months. For other times I chose one particular chair. It couldn’t be the armchair I use for watching television. Nor could it the one I sometimes had a rest in. The chosen chair was one which a friend had described as giving one a hug. I suppose it’s a smaller armchair than some and maybe her and my proportions are increasing. It is placed so that I can also look out at the garden which is so important to me. It will be used to commune and spend time with God. I might just sit and look at the flowers in the garden and birds and give thanks. I will have a suitable pen and Bible beside me; I might read a little or nothing. I might just sit and pray or not pray. There will be no set pattern or ‘must do’ things. No plans, no rules, only time spent with God.

A Candle

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I feel I am like a candle shining for God. Sometimes my light is firm and strong, other times it is just a flicker. When a door of trouble occurs I bend over sidewards in the draught. But as we read in Romans 8 ‘What shall separate us from the love Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword.’ Romans 8:15. As we read in verse 38 ‘I am convinced that neither life nor death, neither angels nor demons. neither present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God.’ verses 37-39 (Goodness, he does cover all bases)

I might flicker but by the grace of God I will never go out. We don’t have to depend on the strength of our tiny candle, God is keeping us glowing. It is not in our own strength. He is the maker of the sun and moon and the same power that He uses to keep them shining will keep us shining as well. Why are we worrying, He will keep us alight.

‘Jesus bids us shine with a clear, pure light,

In this world of darkest, burning in the night

In this world of darkness, so we must shine

You in your small corner and I in mine. Susan Warner

February

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‘Behold, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time for singing has come.’ Song of Solomon. 2:11-12

I don’t like February, yet we have this month each year. It is fortunate for me that it is the shortest one and now this year it is nearly over. But that feeling is wrong because it is the month when the plants and seeds are resting in the ground. The spring flowers are nearly ready to show their heads. Snowdrops are popping up everywhere. In my own small garden I have just four snowdrops in bloom, but when they are ready I’ll divide them and there will be more next year. Their delicate white heads are a real harbinger of spring.

Daffodils are appearing in the garden and parks and wayside verges. Last week I saw my first crocuses for this year. It is a time to be patient. I’ve filled my garden pots with winter pansies and primroses and only cover them with bubble wrap if the temperature gets below freezing.

The days are becoming longer and the hours of darkness are less. Each day there is something fresh to see. This is a time of anticipation and expectation. New hopes, new adventures, and new excitements. I must get to love the month of February. God has all the months in His master plan.

Active not Passive

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Being a Christian is not a passive activity. It is said that sin flourishes if good people do nothing. We need to resist the devil and deliberately oppose all that is wrong by doing good in the face of this evil. We should not be people who quietly sit in the pews., listening and agreeing. Life is a battle, let us go out and be active.

No longer are we a Christian country. It is in my lifetime that this has come about. When I was a child nearly everyone went to Sunday School; this is no longer the case. I wonder how much guilt we should feel for this state of affairs. The Bible tells us we are in a battle, we need to be properly kitted out and prepared. May we all be challenged to speak to one unbeliever this week about our faith. It is no good saying we are too shy or inarticulate. The Holy Spirit is by our side, He will give us the words. So every time we speak to someone, we can ask ourselves if this is the holy conversation we are meant to be having this week? Is this the person God wants us to share His Good News with?

The Voice of Prayer

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‘The voice of prayer is never silent, nor dies the strain of praise away.’ John Ellerton

It is so exciting to realise that 42/7 prayer is ascending up to heaven. When I am asleep I am not praying (though it is a time when God continues to care for me). Most of the people in my country will not be praying, only insomniacs and night workers. This doesn’t mean that there is no prayer all round the world.

Prayer will be uttered by the shepherds in Bethlehem, in spite of the country being war-torn. When they sleep prayer will be sent up from the mountains of Nepal and the plains of New Zealand. When we are distracted, others will be praying. There will never be an absence of prayer.

It’s an exciting thought, as some sleep others are taking up the baton. Wave upon wave will be wafted up to heaven, or shot up in the form of arrow prayers. Some will be short prayers, others will be long and elaborate will hear them.

‘The sun that bids us rest, is waking our brethren ‘neath the western skies, and hour by hour fresh lips are making Your wondrous doings heard on high. John Ellerton

Trustable

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No, you won’t find this word in the dictionary. Trust, trusted, trustworthy, trustfulness trustiest and trusting, they are all there. The word ‘trustable’ was uttered by a youngster on national television, about a trustworthy person in his life, but in the stress of the occasion he couldn’t find the right word. ‘Trustable,’ don’t you jut love it.

Our God is completely ‘trustable’, absolutely and completely. Because we’re using a different word, maybe we will think about it more. ‘God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.’ Psalm 46. You can’t get anything more strong and reliable than a rock. ‘God alone is my rock and my salvation. I shall never be shaken’ Psalm 62:2. ‘God is my light and salvation, whom shall I fear. The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?’ Psalm 27:1

The Bible is overflowing with words of dependability describing our God. But I think ‘trustable’ is a good way of putting it.

Church Mission Statement

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I would like to share with you our church mission statement.

A family that strives to be

Whole-hearted for God

Open-hearted for each other

Broken-hearted for the world.

We want to be whole-hearted for God, whatever it may cost and we know it will cost. Jesus told us that. We want to be all for Him when the going gets tough, when we are persecuted and the world doesn’t understand us or hates us because of what we believe and the stand we make. May we not be like the Laodiceans, neither hot or cold. We want to give this Christian life all we’ve got.

We want to be open-hearted for each other, trusting each other, being there for each other. Again it can be costly. Being there when we are needed by others, it will sometimes be inconvenient, time costly, money costly. But the other members of the congregation are our brothers and sisters in Christ.

We want to be broken-hearted for the world. Our world is in a terrible mess; we realise this whatever our situation or country of origin. It would be depressing to even list the world problems. May the Holy Spirit lead us to help where we can.

Our Every Provision

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What do we trust? In out modern society we often forget that all we have ultimately comes from God. We’ve all heard about the young lad who thought milk came from cartons or bottles and was amazed to see a cow being milked. Even if today we are using milk substitutes, the ingredients will still come from God. Our food is all grown somewhere in the world. Again any substitutes come from God-provided substitutes

What about the air we breathe? It’s all provided by God As we take each breathe we don’t think about it. Only when the air-quality is poor caused by pollution or adverse weather conditions do we give it a thought. Mars and the moon have different atmospheres, but they are still provided by God. When harvest festivals were more popular it was a reminder of where our food came from. ‘We plough the fields and scatter the good seed on the land, But it is fed and watered by God’s almighty hand.’ Matthias Claudius.

Our provisions are not from super-markets, our wealth is not from banks (where thieves break through and steal). We can’t rely on ourselves, we are weak and fallible. ‘Our help comes from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth.’ Ps 121:2

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Heavenly Instructions.

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‘Go’, ‘Get up,’ ‘Come, follow me,’ ‘Love.’ ‘Pray.’ Jesus gave many instructions to the crowds and His followers. Those instructions are the same He gives to us today. ‘Go;’ we are instructed to go and tell others about His love and sacrifice. Only a few of us go to other nations and work on what is known as the ‘mission fields.’ But we can all go and tell others, our neighbours, family, office colleagues, and work mates. It is the same instruction today, ‘Go.’

‘Get up.’ As we become older it becomes more difficult. I am not so eager to get up and obey His wishes for my life on any particular day; getting up is less inviting. But we need to get up, there are people who need our help and need to hear the good news.

‘Come follow Me,’ This is costly and out of our comfort zone. Telling others is not easy. Following our Master is not always comfortable or convenient.

‘Do not..’ There are those who think following the Christian life is a series of ‘Do Not’s.’ But every time we hear this instruction it is for our good and to keep us safe. This message could be expanded to ‘Do not because I have something better for you.’